


Simple

by rinre



Category: Hololive, Virtual Streamer Animated Characters
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Holo5, with a small surprise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:36:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28886967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinre/pseuds/rinre
Summary: Polka liked simple. She thinks that this could be simple, too.
Relationships: Omaru Polka/Yukihana Lamy, Shishiro Botan/Yukihana Lamy
Comments: 17
Kudos: 169





	Simple

“Oi,” A voice coming from somewhere. Above her? Polka grunts and shifts to the side, barely awake to deal with anything. “Omarun, wake up.” The voice keeps talking and Polka knows now who is disturbing her peaceful slumber. She sighs and buries her nose into something soft and fluffy.

“Nhnn.” She says, hoping Nene understands that she needs to get at least four hours of sleep today. “No.” She adds for good measure.

“Why are you sleeping on the couch?” Nene asks, voice lined with some concern, but mostly just annoyance. “You have a bed, Omarun, get up. Your neck is going to cramp.”

Polka’s body finally wakes up enough for her to feel the sharp pain at the base of her skull when she tries to turn around. Maybe sleeping on the couch was a terrible idea. She wasn’t even using a pillow, that was just her coat that she removed the night before.

With a grunt, she opens her eyes slightly and sees Nene hovering over her, hands on her hips. Polka squints, the sunlight hitting her eyes painfully. “Mornin’.” She manages to smile anyway, because she’s Polka.

Nene stares at her a little longer, then melts into a grin of her own. “Morning, weirdo. Do you want to sleep more?”

Polka shakes her head negatively with a hum.

“Okay. I’ll make you breakfast.”

“Nene is an angel.” Polka’s voice is hoarse from bad sleep as she forces herself to sit up. Her head hurts, her eyes capture sparkles in the air, and her stomach growls. She’s hungry and miserable, but she’ll get through it. She tries to remember what exactly happened to make her feel like this.

With nothing much to go on but bodily pains, Polka gets up and slowly decides to move to the bathroom to at least brush her teeth. Morning breath was something she could fix. With a yawn, she walks past Nene in the kitchen, who was already grilling something that smelled really good. She makes a pitstop to hug her from behind, letting all her weight fall on the girl. “Morning.”

“You already wished me good morning,” Nene’s reply has no bite whatsoever. She lifts a hand to give Polka a bite of grilled fish. “Here.”

Polka eats it with gusto and that wakes her up even more. “Tasty. More.”

“After you wash your face.”

“Moreeeee…”

Nene rolls her eyes and obliges, then Polka kisses the side of her head and detaches herself from her friend. “Thank you.”

“Clean yourself. Stinky.”

Polka only giggles and drags her feet across the wooden floor.

The bathroom wasn’t far, but it certainly seemed so when your soul was barely inside your body. Polka didn’t remember having to cross such a huge hallway to get to pee. There were four doors on both sides of the hallway leading to spare rooms, and one of them was Polka’s. It was unused, her bed well-kept and clean. Her memory was starting to come back.

She finally remembers how she ended up on the couch when she reaches the last room before the bathroom.

Inside, she sees Lamy sleeping peacefully. The window was half opened, allowing the sunlight to leak through, hitting the girl’s eyes. Lamy was frowning in her sleep, trying to apparently fight the pain inside her irises.

Polka stands there for a second before turning and entering the room, closing the window all the way silently. Looking over her shoulder, she sees that Lamy now seemed to be a lot more relaxed. Her breathing was even and slow, and she looked regal and tranquil again. Polka smiles. Good. She likes it when Lamy is happy.

Her feet beg her to move and go to her destination now, but Polka’s heart has always dictated her actions, so all she does for a second is stand there and look at Lamy. It’s nothing she hasn’t seen before; just a sleeping, cute little elf recharging her batteries. But every time Polka looks at her, it feels like a novelty. There’s always something new and exciting to marvel – a strand of hair out of place, a wrinkle, a tiny blush, a soft smile. Sometimes a frown, sometimes a look of surprise. To Polka, Lamy was never the same twice.

Also, there was something wrong today.

Lamy was sleeping alone. She wasn’t alone last night. That much, Polka remembers.

Without really thinking, Polka crouches near Lamy, one hand moving up to brush her bangs away from her eyes.

Lamy takes a deep breath, but doesn’t move. Polka’s heart squeezes inside her chest. For no real reason, it always does. Lamy has this effect on her. She stays there, caressing her friend’s hair for a little while, hoping that it soothes her dreams, hoping to make a difference in her life, somehow. Polka laughs at herself. _You just woke up, why are you so philosophical?_

And then, Lamy finally squirms, her mouth saying a single word.

“Shishiron…?”

Polka’s hand stops.

_Ah, right._

“Nope, try again.” Withdrawing her hand, Polka speaks, forcing cheerfulness through her dry throat.

This time, Lamy does open her eyes. When she focuses on Polka in front of her, she softens, a smile on her face. “Ah, Omarun.”

“Ding, ding, ding. You get a prize.”

Lamy chuckles lightly and rubs her eyes. “What’s my prize?” She indulges her, because she’s wonderful, and beautiful, and lovely.

Polka could say what she wanted to say, or she could take a deep breath and push down her emotions, like she always does. She chooses that. “You get fish for breakfast. Courtesy of myself.”

“You’re cooking fish?”

“Yes. Right now.”

“Oh,” Lamy’s motherly instincts don’t take long to kick in. “You should probably be in the kitchen then, it could burn…”

“I ordered the maid to take care of it for me.”

“Maid?”

“Yes. I hired one. Her name is Nana. Nene? Something along those lines.”

It takes a moment for Lamy to understand what exactly Polka is going on about, and that tiny frown of confusion has always been a blessed sight in Polka’s opinion. Finally, Lamy realizes that it’s all a big joke. “You’re not cooking anything. Nene-chan is.”

Polka pretends to be confused. “That doesn’t sound right.”

Lamy laughs again and Polka’s heart soars. She could hear it all day. All night, too.

It’s only a matter of time before Lamy shifts around enough to realize that something is missing. “Have you seen Shishiron?” She asks with no tinge of shame or awkwardness whatsoever. Everyone knew that Shishiro Botan wasn’t in her own room last night.

“I haven’t,” Polka replies and feels terrible when Lamy’s face falls. She also feels something akin to anger over a certain missing lioness. “She might have left a note, though. I haven’t been awake long enough to know anything.”

“Ah,” It sounds as if Lamy notices that Polka is also pretty sleepy for the first time. “You should wash your face, then.” Without warning, she reaches out to brush Polka’s hair, thin fingers carding through soft blonde strands. “Thank you for waking me.”

Polka’s heart shoots through the roof, but she manages to stay sane. “Sure! I’ll use the bathroom real quick, then we can all have Nene’s breakfast.” She finally stands up again, jumping up and down on her heels to get herself moving and filled with energy.

Lamy smiles again, stretching and yawning. “Alright. I’m excited for our new maid’s breakfast.”

This time, Polka’s laugh is genuine.

\--

Washing her face does wonders and Polka finally feels like herself. Her headache was still present, but fainter – some food would heal her quickly. She looks at herself in the mirror for a while after feeling refreshed, still feeling Lamy’s fingers in her hair. Polka decides to pull her hair back today, holding her bangs back with a hairpin. She’s been wearing this look recently, loving the way she looks like a new person each time she stares at her reflection. New Polka was good.

With herself out of the way, Polka’s mind shifts back to Shishiro Botan, and the way Lamy sounded upon waking up and realizing that she wasn’t there. Polka knows that there is a completely valid reason for her friend’s disappearance, but a part of her immediately jumps to conclusions, and she hates it. Polka hates how anger is her main reaction to protectiveness, and how jealousy comes as easily to her as trust. There is no justification for being mad at her friend before hearing her out. Except that her friend wasn’t there, and her other friend – the one she loved maybe a little bit more than she was definitely allowed to – was sad because of it.

Anger was easy to understand. It was what it was. Polka enjoyed easy things.

But she couldn’t live on easy things alone.

With a sigh and tiny slaps to her cheeks, Polka shakes her head. “Get a grip, Omaru.” She finally leaves the bathroom.

Lamy is waiting for her turn with her cellphone in hands and Polka nearly slams into her accidentally. “Oh, sorry!”

“No, no, go ahead!” Polka grins and looks at the phone. Then she speaks again. “Tried calling her?”

Lamy nods. “She didn’t pick up.”

“She’s probably hunting. You know how lions can’t answer the phone or their prey slips away.”

This takes a smile out of Lamy and it’s all that matters. “You’re too silly in the morning. Go eat something.”

“Aye, aye!” Polka salutes and hops off to the kitchen, where the smell is even better than before.

She has to admit that she didn’t expect a fancy breakfast coming from Nene, but the table is really pretty, and the rice seems to be almost done, which surprises her immensely. “Who are you and what happened to Nene-chan?”

“The thanks I get for feeding you!” Nene sounds positively offended as she fills four bowls with miso soup. “Help me out, put these on the table.”

Polka takes them clumsily and walks slowly to prevent the hot liquid from spilling all over. For a ringmaster who was used to the tight rope, she was doing a poor job of showing her flawless balance. “Have you seen Shishiron?”

Nene fills the rest of the bowls and takes the last two to the table with her, a lot faster than Polka. “She left in the morning, said she needed to buy something.”

Polka sets the bowls on the table. “Did she mention what?”

“Not really.”

“You didn’t think to ask?”

Nene walks back to the kitchen to check on the rice. “Uh, no? She will be back soon.”

Polka knows that this was true, but a part of her that she thought she had buried away still thinks, _How can you be sure? People have vanished before._ Afterwards, she chastises herself for thinking like that around Nene, of all people.

She shakes her head and looks for something else to do to distract her thoughts from inevitably spiraling. “Lamy is awake. Do you need more help?”

Nene opens the rice cooker, mixing the soft rice with a spoon and filling more bowls with it. “I’m good. You can sit, I’ll bring the rest.”

Polka didn’t want to sit, she wanted to be in constant movement.

Before she could say anything, Lamy walks into the living room, refreshed and beautiful as only Yukihana Lamy could be in the morning. She smiles upon seeing the nice breakfast that was almost done. “Nene-chan, you could have asked for help. I would’ve loved to cook breakfast with you.”

Nene grins, because Lamy is lovely and she makes everyone feel safe and cared for. “Nah, you needed to sleep. You were up until late yesterday. Sit, sit!”

Lamy sits next to Polka, which makes the ringmaster feel silly and giddy for ridiculous reasons. Her cellphone is still in hands, and Polka thinks about that dumb lioness again, and what could she possibly be doing that was more important than letting her partner know where she was? Polka could feel the ugly seed of anger festering inside her. She needed food, that’s all.

Nene finally finishes bringing the dishes to the table and sits down as well. “Should we wait for Shishiron?”

“If she had told us where she went, maybe we could have an idea of how long she’d take,” Polka’s voice has a bitter edge to it. “But she didn’t and I’m hungry, so thanks for the food!”

Nene and Lamy say their thanks, Lamy a little less enthusiastically than the others. Polka notices, because she notices everything about everyone, all the time.

She decides to cheer her up by being silly, because it’s what she knows what to do. “So, Lamy-chan. Rate our new maid’s food. I’d give it an eight.”

“Maid?” Nene asks.

“I’d say a nine. It’s very good. Where did you find such a wonderful maid, Omarun?” Lamy answers without missing a beat.

“Akihabara.”

“What—” Nene tries to interrupt, but Lamy is quicker.

“Hm-hmm. I’ve heard that maids from Akihabara are very good. You made a great choice.”

“Well, thank you! I hope she sticks around, I need my room cleaned, too.” Polka sips on her miso soup. “Say, do you know how to clean a computer, Momosuzu-san?”

“What are you going on about?” Nene’s face of complete confusion is good enough to distract them.

“She’s a little confused because I just booted her up.” Polka goes on, taking a bite of her fish.

Lamy almost breaks character. “Oh! I didn’t realize she was a robot maid. Very realistic.”

“Yeah, but charging her is very awkward. You have to put the plug inside—”

“Aaaah, nothing gross while we’re eating!” Nene cuts her off, throwing a piece of rice on Polka’s face. Lamy finally breaks into a laughing fit, and Polka decides that having food on her cheeks was worth it, after all.

They finish breakfast with more banter, and soon help Nene clean the dishes. Polka likes how the atmosphere seems to be back to normal somehow, but the moment is ruined as soon as she looks back and Lamy is fidgeting with her phone again, sitting on the living room couch with a tiny frown.

Polka silently looks around the kitchen for a note or something, but there really was nothing. Botan had just vanished in the morning and expected them to wait with no warnings.

It’s instinct, maybe, that drags Polka to Lamy’s side. She sits down and Lamy immediately falls on her, shoulder to shoulder. They’ve been comfortable around each other for a long time, and Polka is glad that this hasn’t changed despite her own convoluted feelings.

With an arm around Lamy’s shoulder, Polka pulls her even closer. “I’m no Shishiron, but tell me what I can do to turn that frown upside down.” She slides a finger gently across Lamy’s eyebrows and it seems to work, judging by the soft laughter that follows.

Lamy leans her head on Polka’s shoulder, eyes closed. “Do a skit.”

“Oh no,” Polka pretends to hate it, but it’s half-hearted. “I need my partner for that.”

“No. Do something on your own.”

Polka looks up, trying to come up with something in the spur of the moment. “Uh… hey, have you heard about Yukihana Lamy’s new favorite food?”

Lamy is already grinning. “What is it?”

“Well, recently I’ve heard… that Lamy is into sa _lami_!” Her voice cracks at the end, as if realizing how terrible this is, and she pinches the bridge of her nose immediately. “I hate this.”

“This joke was sa- _lame_!” Nene shouts from the kitchen, and it’s even worse than Polka’s own pun, so she laughs hysterically. Lamy can’t really hold herself back either, and soon the three girls are caught up in their own dumb jokes and morning haziness.

When the laughter subdues, Lamy nestles her head closer to Polka’s neck. “Also, you don’t have to be.”

“Hm?” Polka asks, lost into the warmth.

“Shishiron. You don’t have to be her to turn my frown upside down.”

“Oh,” Polka swallows, because she hadn’t expected that. Lamy lifts her head up and looks at her with such fondness that makes her a bit dizzy. “Okay.” Polka could get lost in her eyes for ages. There were galaxies in them. She could almost feel gravity pulling her in. Maybe the lack of sleep was taking a toll on her, too, because she could almost swear that Lamy had gotten closer.

That’s when the front door opens, and Shishiro Botan walks in holding two plastic bags and a whole bottle of premium sake in hands.

Polka feels Lamy relaxing her shoulders and pulling back, the magic broken. And that’s when something inside the ringmaster kind of explodes. “Where were you?” She’s the first to ask, maybe a bit more harshly than she’s supposed to.

“I’m so sorry!” Botan hops inside, closing the door with her shoulder. “I wanted it to be a surprise, but the line at the market was _huge_ and I can’t believe people actually wake up so early to buy stuff on sale.”

Polka is still angry, yes, but she’s still Omaru Polka with all her heart and soul, so she moves to help Shishiron with her bags before the girl drops the premium sake on the floor. “You could have left a note.” She mumbles.

Shishiron smiles nervously. “Thanks. I didn’t know it was going to take this long. I was planning on hopping back into bed before anyone realized I was gone, actually.”

Lamy is by her side now, and she eyes the bottle with flushed cheeks. “Shishiron, you…”

Botan grins proudly, like her hunt was successful. “You talked about this bottle yesterday when we were all giddy, and I knew I had seen this brand somewhere close by. I wanted to surprise you when you woke up. Like… boom, premium sake on the table! Who did this? Sake Claus? Maybe so.”

Lamy takes the bottle like it’s a precious infant, eyes wide and face filled with shock. Then, she looks at Shishiron, all smiles and happy gleams. “You didn’t have to.”

Shishiron shrugs. “Eh, seeing you smile is always worth it.”

Always so smooth and honest. Lamy just tiptoes, placing a gentle kiss to Botan’s cheek, and Polka chooses this moment to turn around and put the plastic bags on the kitchen counter.

There are a few things that she hates about this whole morning exchange. She hates how she constantly thinks about the things that Shishiron is brave enough to say, but is too afraid of saying them out loud. She hates how Lamy would probably not even mind if she suddenly started flirting with her like that, but she’s terrified of doing it. She hates how her hands shake when she takes the products that Shishiron bought out of the bags – olive oil, because they had none, rice, because they were down to one bag, the sauce Nene likes, the fish Polka loves, and some chocolate for all of them. She hates how Botan left, made them worry about her, but returned with apology gifts to everyone even though she didn’t have to.

The thing Polka hates the most about this morning isn’t even how blown out of proportion everything seemed now, but how she can’t even find a valid excuse to be mad, because Shishiro Botan was genuinely one of the kindest people Polka has ever met.

Of course Lamy was head over heels for someone like that. She should be.

\--

Being hungover actually makes people hungry, Polka finds out. Barely an hour after their hefty breakfast, she’s already rummaging through the fridge for a snack to fill her empty stomach. Nene catches her and rolls her eyes, giving her some medicine and a leftover salmon onigiri.

“How come you guys aren’t sluggish…” Polka asks with a groan, mouth full of rice and feet propped up on Nene’s lap. They’re all lazing around on the living room, with Nene and Polka on the couch and Lamy and Botan sitting below on the floor.

“I know when to stop drinking and Lamy’s metabolism is made of pixie dust,” Botan says immediately, like a rehearsed answer. Her eyes are glued to the screen, trying really hard to knock Nene’s Bowser off the stage. Lamy’s Kirby ends up landing a heavy hit, and Botan’s Fox flies off the platform. “Ah, no!”

“Haha, nice.” Polka giggles.

“Finish your onigiri, Omarun, I’m coming for you next.” Botan smirks, looking above her shoulder.

“Lamy and I will gang up on you.”

“Yes,” Lamy replies, dodging Nene masterfully. “I don’t think that Bowser is very good against smaller players, Nene-chan.”

“You won’t come down, of course I can’t hit you! Oi, coward, come here!” Nene is very into it and Polka and Botan laugh. It’s funny how all that anger and jealousy seemed to have dissipated after a while. Polka was glad for it; she was terrible at holding grudges, especially over people she actually loved more than anything.

The match takes a long time, with Lamy running away and Nene chasing her, and Botan drinks a cup of water before speaking, “Should we bring something to Senchou’s party later?”

“Oh! The sake you bought!” Lamy says.

“Really? I thought you would want to drink it by yourself.”

“Sake is better with friends. And this one is so good, everyone will enjoy it.”

“And then they’ll love us and forgive me for all the crap I pull on our Minecraft server,” Polka nods. “Yes, brilliant plan. We offer the sake.”

“Yikes.” The other three girls say simultaneously, which makes them all burst into laughter.

“Oi!” Polka’s timing is excellent, as always, and the mood settles into a comfortable one. She grins and looks at Lamy and Botan on the floor, and decides that everything is good and as it should be. She wouldn’t change it for the world.

She doesn’t want to.

She’s scared of what would happen if she did.

\--

“I may have some regrets,” Polka voices a few concerns as she looks in the mirror and tries to put some makeup on without closing her eyes. The lack of sleep definitely caught up to her now, just hours before they had to get ready for a party. “Someone give me an energy drink before I turn my face into a canvas.”

“Technically, if you went looking like a clown, nobody would care.” Botan finishes choosing her earrings for the night and brushing her hair in the tiny bathroom the four of them had to share. Lamy and Nene were ready to go and waiting in the living room, and Polka was worried that they would be late because it was the fifth time she tried to apply some eyeliner.

On the sixth fail, she’s ready to throw a tantrum. “I can’t do it! I was never good at makeup on the first place.”

“Ironic, for a clown.”

“Imagine having another joke. What would that feel like. A whole new world.”

Botan’s raspy giggle is somehow relaxing. Polka feels a hand on her shoulder and Botan has a sympathetic look. “I’ll bring you a drink. That will cheer you up, yeah?”

She can just pout and nod. “Mhm. Thanks, Shishiron.”

With a squeeze, Botan leaves the bathroom, giving Polka enough time to slap her cheeks and jump in place to get some energy flowing. She knows that she will feel better once she gets to the party and meets everyone else. Conversation always hypes her up. She could sleep all she wanted tonight afterwards, and she definitely planned to.

Someone else walks in, and it’s not the lioness with her drink.

“Having trouble?” Lamy asks with a tiny smile.

Polka allows herself a moment to look at how gorgeous Lamy looks tonight, with the soft makeup adorning her skin and the pretty blue dress she took out for special occasions. Everything about her screamed _snow angel_ , and it wasn’t even Christmas. Polka always thought that she was a gift, regardless.

“Looking pretty is a prison and I’m learning to be free,” Polka replies, which makes Lamy laugh.

“What does that mean?” She asks without waiting for an answer, and takes Polka’s eyeliner from the sink. “Come here.”

“Ah.” Is all she can say before taking a step forward and accepting her fate.

Lamy is a bit taller, but not much. “Look up,” She asks, and Polka obliges.

There is something otherworldly about this moment, even though it’s just a friend helping another friend with her makeup for a party. Polka thinks about this, and tries to envision a world where this situation is normal, but the fact that she’s forcing herself to not feel every nerve in her body trembling with Lamy’s soft fingers on her cheek means that she’s already in too deep. There is no mystery or riddle. It’s very simple, like Polka.

She loves Lamy. That’s all she truly knows.

Acceptance brings comfort, in a way.

Lamy smiles and Polka can see it from the corner of her eye. “What?”

“I never applied makeup on you.” Lamy’s voice is low and soft, like her.

“Never?”

“Mhm. I help Nene-chan sometimes, and even Shishiron, but not you.”

“Wow. I don’t like that. I want Lamy to dote on me more.”

“Well, you never ask.”

“I will ask from now on.”

“Will you?”

“Yeah. I will reach into my brain and delete basic tasks so that you can help me tie my shoes and apply my makeup forever.”

Lamy chuckles. “Omarun is so dramatic.”

Polka’s lips curl up. “I have to get your attention, somehow.” It’s banter and she likes it, likes the way Lamy feels comfortable to dunk on her while being gentle all the same.

Lamy moves to the other eye. “You don’t have to be dramatic to have my attention. All you have to do is ask.”

And something about this sentence just sounds _bonkers_ to Polka. If she wants Lamy to be by her side all she has to do is ask? Since when does logic apply to feelings? It’s not like Polka never thinks about it, but then she shuts these thoughts down really quickly because she doesn’t want to be whiny and annoying. Besides, she has no intentions of taking Lamy’s precious time with Shishiron away. They’re always together, but it’s what makes Lamy the happiest, so Polka is fine with that, too.

She wonders then, why does this statement sound like an answer to a question she’s never dared to ask.

“You just gave me a very powerful weapon, so now I will use it.” Polka jokes, because jokes are familiar territory, and she doesn’t trust herself much at this moment.

Lamy finishes her task and steps back, but not enough that she’s away from Polka’s personal space. Her smile is still present, but falters to something weird – nervousness? No, it couldn’t be.

“Please do.”

It almost feels like a plea, if Polka allowed herself to dream.

Lamy is still so close.

“Alright.” Polka has no idea how to turn _this_ into a joke, so that’s all she says, with a voice that is barely a whisper. That magic moment from before seemed to be back. She has no idea what to do.

(She knows exactly what she wants to do.)

She does nothing, and when the silence becomes to much to bear, she presses her hands to Lamy’s cheeks and squeezes, sticking out her tongue with a stupid, farting noise that takes Lamy by surprise. After that, before she loses her courage, Polka lets Lamy go and presses a kiss to her cheek, hopping away from the bathroom. “Thank you for helping! I need to put on my best hat!”

Polka wouldn’t dare to destroy her family’s status quo, so she runs. She’s good at it.

She doesn’t even realize that Shishiron forgot to bring her drink, but now she’s definitely awake.

\--

The party at Marine’s place wasn’t as wild as one would think. Most people she had invited were either very busy with work or out of town, so the ones that did show up were mostly her gen mates and Polka’s buddies, because declining an invitation from your senpai was hardly a good idea.

Plus, they were allowed to take a break sometimes.

“Welcome!” Marine is lively as always and dressed to the nines. Her sparkly – and quite short – red dress contrasted with the beautiful long coat she wore, and for some reason her pirate hat matched with the whole get up. She wasn’t wearing her eyepatch, today. “Come in, come in!”

“We brought something, Senchou,” Shishiron steps aside to let Lamy show off her beautiful bottle of premium sake and Polka cracks a smile at how Marine moans loudly at the unexpected drink.

“You guys… you’re so smart, sucking up to your senpai like that... Why can’t the others be as good as you…”

“Senchou, we’re literally right here.” Coco’s boisterous voice rings across the room, making everyone else laugh.

“Go, go, sit down! We can all make out after I open this beauty up.” Marine’s choice of words surprises no one anymore, so Polka and the others simply take a seat on the cramped living room. There is a kotatsu and another table with blankets on the floor, and everyone greets the newly arrived guests with pats on the back and heartfelt yells.

The party is just an excuse for the girls to unwind and enjoy their day off with each other, so when Marine returns with glasses of sake and fried snacks, it feels like a bar inside an apartment. Everyone is incredibly loud and dramatic over nothing, and it’s the exact type of atmosphere that Polka loves more than anything.

At some point, Pekora tells Marine to shut up about BDSM tests and boots up the Switch so they can all yell some more over Mario Party. It’s a mess and a terror, and Polka feels at home.

She is snuggled together with Lamy and the others, and when their eyes meet Polka can only smile because she’s happy, and warm, and surrounded by crazy people, and her thoughts stopped swirling inside her head.

When Lamy smiles back and says that she will destroy her team in Pull It Together, Polka almost kisses her again.

\--

There is music in the living room now, courtesy of Towa who sneakily plugged her phone on the speakers when no one was looking, but the beats sound muffled on the balcony outside. Polka had excused herself to go to the bathroom, and after she was done, she realized that Marine’s apartment had a nice balcony that led outside, with an amazing view from the sparkly city below. She lived in a high floor, after all.

Polka’s feet had dragged her out here, and now she just leans with her elbows on the rail as the chilly wind hits her cheeks. It’s rare that she allows herself some time to relax in an agitated environment, but the balcony looked like a secret passage to a whole new world, and Polka had always been a sucker for fairy tales.

Her brain slows down for a second and it’s soothing.

“Omarun?”

The voice is unmistakable. Polka turns around and grins at Lamy approaching from behind. “Hey! Look what I found.”

Lamy walks until they’re side by side and gazes at the city lights with childish wonder. “I had no idea there was a balcony out here.”

“Senchou has so many secrets.”

“But this one I actually don’t mind finding out.”

Polka barks out a laugh. “Damn! Ruthless, Lamy-chan.”

Lamy laughs with her, and Polka’s first mistake is turning her head to look at the girl by her side, framed by city lights like a movie poster. Lamy was _shining_. Polka thinks that it might also be the sake she had been drinking. She wasn’t drunk, but tipsy enough to appreciate the details without feeling guilty.

And to maybe blurt out compliments without thinking. “You’re so pretty.”

Lamy stops laughing and looks at Polka, cheeks red – they were red when she walked in. Maybe the sake was in her system, too. “Oh?”

Polka panics a little, but feels brave tonight. Brave enough to at least compliment her friend. “You are. Lamy-chan is so pretty. Everyone says that, but it’s true.”

“You never said that.”

“That sounds like a lie.”

“At least not that I can remember!” Lamy giggles.

“Then I need to step up my game,” Polka grabs the rail and does something stupid. She yells to the world outside. “Lamy-chan is beautiful!!”

Lamy brings a hand to her mouth, slapping Polka’s arm softly. “What are you doing?”

“Letting the world know! The world must know!” Polka only laughs, dodging the assault.

“Gosh, Omarun!” There is lightness in Lamy’s voice as she finds some mercy and stops hitting her, only to grab onto Polka’s arm and lean against her, like nothing out of the ordinary. “You’re lucky the music on the living room is so loud.”

Polka doesn’t even freeze. If this blessing has been given to her, she will accept it, no questions asked. “Why, are you shy? I can go in there and yell to everyone how beautiful you are, too.”

“No!” Lamy shakes her arm. “Just… let me be the only one to know.”

That does spike Polka’s heartbeat. “Oh? What, that I think you’re pretty?”

“Yes.”

“Lamy-chan is being selfish…” Teasing her is fun. Being around Lamy is so fun.

“What’s with you today?” Lamy laughs at everything she says. Polka thinks that being a clown has its perks, after all.

“Nothing! I’m just being honest!”

“Did you drink too much again?”

“I’m not drunk,” Polka pouts. “Tipsy, maybe. Drunk? Never.”

“Lies.”

“I never lie to you.”

“That’s a lie, too.” Lamy’s voice is lined with something. Polka can’t decipher it, but it does confuse her.

“What! It’s not.”

Lamy just looks at her, Polka glares back, and they have a staring contest for about five seconds before they break into laughter. What were they doing? Polka has no idea, but she loves spending time with her like this. Only the two of them.

“You’re so cute.” Lamy is the one who speaks out of nowhere now, and Polka loves this, too.

“Yeah? Compliment me more.”

“I do it all the time.”

“But I’m never there to hear it,” Polka detaches her arm from Lamy’s grasp and turns to her, a challenge in her eyes. “If you can say five things you like about me to my face, I won’t yell how pretty you are to everyone in the living room.”

Polka expected Lamy to protest and hit her again, but all she receives is a serious look. Lamy reaches out to grab her hands, then, and Polka feels like she could float away like this.

“Okay,” Lamy takes a deep breath, stays in silence as if choosing her words carefully, then finally looks at her with resolve. “I love how you always cheer everyone up. I love how you care about everyone. I love how cute you are when you feel lonely and want attention. I love how safe I feel with you.”

_Oh, wait._

It was too much.

This was way too much. “W-wait—”

“And I love… I love the way you love me,” Lamy’s hands move up, slide up Polka’s arms, to her shoulders. One of her fingers brush her jaw. Polka’s mouth feels dry. “But I hate that you feel like you have to hold back with me.”

That’s not at all what Polka was waiting to hear. There was no way to respond to that, so all she does is stare. At everything, really. Her eyes move frantically, across Lamy’s face, neck, the arms stretched out, back up to her eyes. Her gaze stops on her lips. Mistake number two.

“Lamy…”

“Omarun… can I be selfish again? Just one more time.”

Polka has no words. So she just nods.

Lamy gets close, and Polka instinctively closes her eyes. She can still hear the music, muffled in the background. It’s a beat that she can’t decipher, a song she’s never heard before. She thinks that it’s appropriate for throwing herself into the unknow.

When Lamy kisses her, she kisses back. Instinctively, like she’s been prepared for this for ages. One hand moves to Lamy’s back as she feels fingers against her scalp, neatly tangling in her hair. Lamy’s lips are as soft as she’s always imagined. They move like a dance, and it’s the best kiss of Polka’s life. Not the first, but the best. She’s not sure she will kiss someone like this ever again.

Their bodies press together, Polka sighs against those lips, and when they part, Lamy tries to kiss her again. But in that moment, a rare glimpse of sanity flashes against her eyes, and Polka pulls back like she’s just been bitten.

“W-wait, Lamy-chan… No, I can’t do this.”

Lamy stops, her face falling. “O-oh. Oh, no. Did I read this all wrong? I’m sorry, Omarun—”

“No! No, that’s not… Shishiron.” That name, and the person attached to it. It feels heavy on Polka’s stomach and she feels dizzy. “You’re with Shishiron! I can’t do this to her. You can’t do this to her.”

And the sheer confusion on Lamy’s face is so foreign to her that Polka is sure this is all a dream now.

Eventually, it dawns on her. “Oh. You’re _not_ dating.” She feels like she’s going to pass out. “You’re not dating Shishiron??”

Lamy sighs a little, and Polka realizes that that’s not exactly the case, either. She just waits, and Lamy finally finds the words to explain properly. “Shishiron and I… We _are_ something. We are something, and it’s special, and I love her so much.”

“Oh.” Polka’s heart falters.

“But that’s not it, Omarun.” She shakes her head. “I’m not… hers. Not exclusively. And she knows that. She’s not mine, either. Because we… Oh, gosh, she’s going to kill me.”

Now she’s interested. “Huh?”

Lamy’s face flushes, redder than before, and she closes her eyes before blurting out, “You never seem to notice the way she teases you, and bickers with you. Because you’re so busy paying attention to me.”

“What—”

“And it’s cute. It’s so cute, and watching it happen was kind of sad, but so cute, and we didn’t mind. But… I don’t think I can hide this from you anymore. Not after what I just did.”

“Lamy, I don’t—”

“We like you, Omarun. Shishiron and I.” As if noticing what she just said, Lamy brings her hands to her mouth, mortified. “Oh, she _is_ going to kill me.”

 _This,_ Polka thinks, _has got to be a glitch in the matrix._

Polka stands there, mouth half-opened, stuttering gibberish for a second, before yelling the first thing that comes to mind, “Shishiro Botan likes me?!”

Lamy looks like she wants to dig a hole in the ground, and Polka honestly feels like she could go with her.

But then, she stops. She stops and remembers what just happened.

She kissed Lamy. She kissed the girl she’s had a crush on since she could remember.

No, Lamy kissed _her._

Maybe this mess wasn’t as bad as she was making it out to be.

Polka takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, thinks for a second, and stops. She just stops thinking. She latches onto the simple things. It feels good. She’s still a bit tipsy, even though she’s definitely sober now, but she steps forward, puts a hand on Lamy’s cheek, and leans forward again. Her lips press against Lamy’s, who gasps in surprise, but welcomes the kiss wholeheartedly.

When they part, Polka sets her forehead against Lamy’s. “You two are so weird.”

And this time, Lamy laughs. She laughs until she cries, and then she hugs Polka.

The warmth from the hug is maybe worth the insanity.

Polka, being Polka, has to end this whole conversation with a joke. “Nene is going to be so mad.”

What she doesn’t expect, is Lamy’s response. “…Actually.”

“Oh, hell.”

\--

Polka wakes up with something pressed against her chest. This time, she remembers everything. She takes a deep breath, opens her eyes, and sees a mat of blue hair in front of her. Lamy’s breathing is steady and nice, and Polka is sure her heart is going to burst out of her chest.

She loves her so much.

And now, she knows that her love isn’t one-sided.

It’s not exclusive, not really. And she will have to work on that.

But when she turns her head back to check the two people on the other bed and sees Shishiron and Nene tangled up, she thinks that she can learn how to love this, too.

With a smile, she pulls Lamy closer to her, presses a kiss behind her ear, and drifts off again.

Polka liked simple.

She thinks that this could be simple, too.

**Author's Note:**

> can you believe there are no holo5 fics in this tag what is UP with that.  
> i have an agenda here, ok.
> 
> follow me on twitter if you wish! @rintubein


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